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Government Surveillance | Mercy Street and The Good Stuff: Time Capsule

Using video from Mercy Street and The Good Stuff: Time Capsule students learn about government surveillance techniques used today that have their roots in the Civil War era. They will also uncover information about real spies like Frank Stringfellow, who is featured in Mercy Street. Utilizing video, discussion questions, teaching tips, and activities, students examine specific spying strategies used by the North and South, and analyze the rationale for the US government to be spying on its own citizens. For more resources from Mercy Street, check out the collection page.

In this activity, your students will learn about government spying and surveillance during the Civil War. Using video from The Good Stuff: Time Capsule, the PBS series Mercy Street, and primary source documents, students will explore the scope of government surveillance in the North and the South, how civilians participated in spying on each side, what happened to citizens who spoke out against the government, and how President Lincoln suspended habeas corpus (Latin for "that you have the body").

Introduction

Tell your students they will be learning about government surveillance during the Civil War and examine spying that occurred on both sides of the Mason Dixon line.

Ask your students what they think the spying looked like during this time period. What about spying in the South? Tell students they will be watching a video from Mercy Street to find out. Remind students that while the video is excerpted from a fictional drama, the storylines are based on the experiences of real people during the Civil War. In fact, the main character featured in this video was a real person and a real Confederate spy.

Play the Confederate Spy video. Then tell students to complete the associated discussion questions below. Students may need to watch the videos multiple times.

How does Billy Griffin (aka Frank Stringfellow) talk his way into the Mansion House Hospital? What initial hints are presented to clue you in that he’s not who he pretends to be?

What is Frank Stringfellow looking for in the colonel’s quarters? What does he find and how do you think it’ll be helpful for the Confederate cause?

Describe what happens when the colonel wakes up? How does Stringfellow respond? Given his actions, do you think this is his first spy mission or has he done this before?

Activity

Tell students they will be taking a deeper dive into spying during the Civil War. Students begin by watching a video that examines government spying and surveillance techniques used today and how they are rooted in the Civil War. Instruct students to watch The Origins of Government Surveillance | The Good Stuff: Time Capsule video and answer the discussion questions. Discussion questions include:

In this video, host Craig Benzine says, "We were fighting a new kind of war and we needed a totally new form of espionage." What examples did the video offer to support this statement?

How was government spying and its scope different during the Civil War, as opposed to previous American wars?

How did average American citizens spy on their neighbors?

What communications agencies were required to work with, and provide private information to, the United States government? How did this spying occur?

According to the video, who was one of the first Civil War "hackers?" Who did he work for and how did he do it?

In what ways did the U.S. government dramatically expand its power during the Civil War? What happened to people who spoke out against the government?

Governnent surveillance often led to the silencing of dissidents, unreasonable arrests and, at times, unfair convictions of treason. As mentioned in the The Good Stuff: Time Capsule video, arrested citizens like the soliders in the Henry B. Carrington case, faced consequences including unlawful military tribunals, imprisonment, and were only set free after the war. Ask your students to imagine what it might feel like to be unlawfully detained. How does the government lawfully detain or jail American citizens?

Ask students if they’ve ever heard of the writ of habeas corpus. Then distribute the Habeas Corpus handout. Tell students to read through the handout. Then read through the document together as a class. Try to read the original excerpted text with your students, too. Then, tell students to answer the discussion questions below:

When was this version of habeas corpus written?

What does habeas corpus mean? What rights does it secure?

Why did the framers of the U.S. Constitution include the writ of habeas corpus in the Constitution?

According to the Constitution, when can habeas corpus be suspended?

Explain to students that President Lincoln, and his vast military intelligence agencies, had the authority to arrest and imprison American citizens without a fair trial because he suspended the writ of habeas corpus.

Now that your students understand habeas corpus, tell them that they’ll examine how and why Lincoln took this right away from American citizens during the Civil War. Distribute the Suspension of Habeas Corpus handout. Tell students to read the document and then answer the discussion questions below:

When was this "letter" written?

Who wrote this document? What was his role in government?

Who ordered this proclamation? How do you know?

Do you think Lincoln’s proclamation to suspend the writ of habeas corpus was justified given the circumstances of the Civil War? Use evidence to support your claim.

Extension Activity

Present the following prompt to your students: Besides the Civil War, when has the writ of habeas corpus been suspended? Who was impacted by this action and why did the President make this decision? Do you think it was a reasonable use of power given the circumstances or do you think it was an abuse of power?

Distribute the Civil War Spy handout. Students can use this document to help them gather important information for their essay. Be sure students cite all sources used in their essay. Ask students to share their essays with the class. Encourage a classroom closing activity discussion with the following questions:

What are common themes that emerge when discussing Civil War spies?

Does there seem to be a difference in Union and Confederate spying techniques?